Abra Kadabra and Other Nonsense
by ShiraNation
Summary: Naomily AU. The two girls meet under some dire circumstances, both in need of resueing. Will they be enough to help each other or will they drown in everything that's going on around them?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: GUESS WHAT. nothing.**

**Heads up: lotza Jen and Rob background story in this first chapter… (haven't seen that really done before in any of the fanfics… probably cuz Jenna tends to be a bit of a errr… bitch? Lol. So perhaps this will explain some of that… Dun't worry though, this chapter does also include a fair share of little Emily and Katie.**

Chapter 1: Prelude

I'd like to tell you a story... It start's out with a married couple, Rob and Jenna Fitch, happily in love. They were engaged for a few years before they had a most impressive wedding and moved into a lovely house, of Jenna's choice, on number four, Stenson Avenue, a more posh settlement within Great Britain.

Jenna was raised to always pursue perfection, so when she found Rob, a successful and kind owner over a chain of gyms all across the United Kingdom, she didn't stop until he belonged to her, and only her. Rob wasn't sure exactly what it was about Jenna that captured him, perhaps he admired the way she was able to take control over everything so easily or the way she always knew exactly what she wanted. Either way, Rob's life long dream became to please his wife in any which way he could. It was safe to say, that it was Jenna who was wearing the trousers in their household.

After two years time, most of the couples in the area were at the age where they were starting to grow families. Jenna was never one to fall behind on what ever became the new trend, so one night she let Rob know that the time had come for them to have children of their own. To Jenna, a perfect family included the perfect darling husband who could support his family yet would do as his wife says without complaint, and two perfect, obedient, little children, one boy and one girl; the type of children she would bring to the neighbors and brag over their achievements; achievements that were be expected to be on a much more advanced level than all the other children their age.

To say Rob Fitch was a very happy man for a few weeks would be an understatement, his wife was insistent on getting pregnant, and by the consistent effort, her demands were met shortly after. She was completely elated when she found out she was going to have twins, Rob was overjoyed as well. Although, he knew his wife well enough to know to worry about her getting jealous of the attention of the children they may be having soon, so, he made sure his effort to please her doubled, perhaps even tripled. Jenna's wish for the perfect family was so close to coming true she could feel it…

Things started to go down hill at one of the regular weekly check ups with the doctor during her pregnancy. Rob was sitting beside his wife as the doctor was moving the monitoring device over Jenna's stomach. Both were fully focused on the screen that was displaying moving black-and-white images of the twins inside. The doctor sitting on the swivel chair stopped moving around the small device in her hand and looked to Jenna and Rob with a smile, "Would you like to know the genders?"

Rob looked to his wife, willing to comply with whatever she answered, although secretly wishing she would say yes. He could swear he loved his wife ten times more the second his prayers were answered and Jenna decided, "Yes; that would be wonderful."

The doctor resumed moving around the device and stared at the screen a moment before returning back to them, "Congratulations, you have two little girls… there still is possibility for me to be wrong until they are actually born, however the odds of that happening are very unlikely."

Now this is the point where anyone who knew about Jenna's plans for a perfect family, _one boy and one girl_, would raise their fist to their mouth and mutter _"Oh, shit."_ But, Rob's hands were both currently confined within the grasp of Jenna's own, which he was beginning to regret, considering the way her grip was tightening. (There was no kind of work-out that could prep you for a death-grip from Jenna.)

Despite the disappointing news, _no, that's another understatement,_ despite the world crumbling news… Jenna maintained her smile to the friendly doctor who didn't notice any reason to be concerned. Rob too, was careful to make sure he was still smiling, even if he knew he probably looked stupid the way he was simultaneously biting the inside of his lip to distract himself from the pain coming from his hands.

"How… wonderful." Jenna said, easily hiding the wrath she'd probably take out on Rob later, when they weren't among the eyes of the public. Rob had no idea exactly what to expect from his wife though, he had spent the past months decorating the two nurseries for their children, one in shades of blue for the expected boy, and one in shades of pink for the expected girl, (Jenna was a complete traditionalist). They had even gone out and bought all the toys they thought were 'gender appropriate', dolls for the girl and trains for the boy. (It didn't matter that they wouldn't be able to play with them for awhile… It was all about making arrangements for their perfect family and their perfect future.)

Just as expected, the car ride home was certainly not a happy one… neither were the next few months until the little twin girls were born.

Six years later, Jenna was still very much the same woman and Rob was very much the same man, although perhaps more fearful and obedient towards his wife. Fortunately for Rob, he was no longer the item on which she took out the majority of her vicious words, now all her anger was reserved for one Fitch alone, the younger of the twins, Emily Fitch.

During the early years of their childhood, nothing would have really seemed unusual to anyone visiting their home. You may have noticed that Jenna mostly only paid attention to the elder Fitch twin, Katie, while Rob took care of Emily whenever he wasn't at Jenna's side, but you would just assume that each parent had their favorite or found it easier to split the responsibilities, each taking care of one.

When the twins were three years old, it started to become a little more obvious to Emily that Jenna did not love her as much as Katie, perhaps not at all. She was even slowly starting to learn that it was not her father who was making any of the important decisions. She watched as Katie was always showered with attention by all the neighbors at block parties, while she was generally forgotten and left to play in a sandbox by herself, still expected to be on her best behavior. (Whether Jenna liked it or not, Emily had Fitch attached to her name, so by default she was expected to meet her mother's high standard whether her efforts would be appreciated or not.)

Emily understood that her mother expected nothing short of perfection, which was why she would always try and be her best. In pre-school she was quick to learn her alphabet, always going to sleep during nap-time, never giving the teachers a hard time, unlike her twin Katie. Despite her best attempts, there was nothing Emily could do to make Jenna care for her or even give her the same affectionate smiles her mother gave Katie.

Somehow, in a twisted way, Emily had been taught to be grateful for what little she was given. Sure, she was beginning to grow gradual resentment but at the same time, yet she was sure not to allow herself to ever show it, knowing the severity of the consequences, (threats often made), were not worth displaying any defiance.

Instead of seeing the broom closet beneath the rickety staircase as a prison, especially considering the way it was locked with a key from the outside every night, she would imagine it as a place to keep herself safe, a place to hide away from Jenna. She would spend much of her time in there when she wasn't doing her chores, either wasting away time by sleeping on the cot which she was only able to fit on because of her small frame and height, or by playing with the few toys she found abandoned at parks that she kept on a shelf meant for cleaning supplies. (All within the closet...)

When Emily was four, she had learned that hope was a lost cause and waste of emotion. At one of her parents' house parties, thrown in attempt to show off the way they renovated their house with some pricey, over-the-top designer, she had heard news that she assumed to be life changing, for the better. Her mother was surrounded by a crowd of women her age, all probably almost as equally into out-doing their 'friends' as Jenna was, when she broke the life-changing news. _"I'm having a baby boy!"_

Emily smiled something she rarely did; she was even going to ask her mother when he was coming, not understanding where babies came from yet… But, she decided to stay away from the party and not ask because that would be pushing it, as her mother had been debating locking her up in the broom closet without dinner that night in the first place (not for any particular reason other than having been born...).

So Emily quietly celebrated by herself for the next five months until her little brother, Britney, was born. She had thought that surely her mother would be able to be happy with her now that she had the boy Jenna had originally wanted, instead of her. But, as usual, lesson quickly learned, her mother was no nicer, rather, even meaner than before. Things quickly worsened, because as she grew up, she not only had Jenna being mean to her, but she also had to deal with Katie and Britney who also grew fond of tormenting her.

The next happiest moment Emily felt, (if you consider her one 'first' legitimate, even though it turned out badly…), was on her sixth birthday. Katie had gotten up earlier than she regularly did that morning, pausing on her way down the staircase to stomp right above Emily's head. "WAKE UP, LOSER! IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY, AND I WANT CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES FOR BREAKFAST!" Katie had continued running down the steps and into the kitchen, banging the broom closet door with her hands as she passed it.

Dust fell into Emily's eyes from beneath the steps above her head, which she tried to rub away before getting out of the broom closet. That was only after Britney too had stomped down the steps, followed by Jenna who had unlocked the closet and allowed Emily out. However, before Jenna allowed Emily to go into the kitchen and make them all breakfast, (one of the chores expected of her, despite how little she was to even be handling heavy iron pans around the hot cooker), she pulled the little girl aside.

"Now Emily, do you know what today is?"

"It's Katie's birthday." Emily knew enough to leave out the fact that it was her own birthday too, being that of Katie's twin...

"Correct, so today is all about your sister, and making her happy, of course. So when all her friends come over for her birthday party I want you to disappear, understood? I don't want you taking any attention away from Katie on her special day."

"Yes M'am." Emily said, looking to the floor sadly.

"Do I sense ungratefulness?"

"No M'am."

"Good, let's keep it that way. Maybe if you behave and do as you're told, I'll allow you to have your present."

"You got me a present?" Emily couldn't help herself from acting like the child she really was; she looked up into Jenna's eyes with excitement, too happy to be shocked by the unusual resemblance of kindness.

"Yes. So you better not screw up or I'll have bought it for nothing."

A shout from the other room ended the conversation between Emily and Jenna, "I WANT PANCAKES! EMILY? EMILY? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

Jenna left Emily after giving her a stern look to get into the kitchen and start making those pancakes. "Now Katie, what did I tell you about swearing…"

"Sorry, Mum." Katie muttered insincerely, rolling her eyes. She always got away with everything no matter how unacceptable… it was easier for Jenna to overlook and lightly correct Katie's mistakes than to admit that her child isn't as perfect as she had intended.

"That's alright dear. I'll let it go, today's your birthday."

"That's right, Mum. Where are my presents? I want my presents, NOW." Katie shouted while sat at the table, next to her, Britney was playing some video game on his PSP he whined his way into Rob buying for him a few days ago.

"Katie, love, don't you think we should wait until after breakfast to open them?" Rob entered the kitchen and gave the older twin a hug and kiss on the top of her head, despite her resistance to do so in return. (He passed Emily without so much as a nod of the head in acknowledgement…)

"NO! I want my presents, NOW! And there better be loads of them or I'm moving out."

"Don't be rash love, you're only turning six." Rob chuckled.

"Rob, stop teasing Katie and get our daughter her presents." Jenna scolded.

"Of course, anything for my family." He left the room taking the cup of coffee Emily had poured him before, in hand, before he returned with an empty cup and a large, filled rubbish bag.

"YOU GOT ME RUBBISH? MUM, tell me Daddy didn't get me rubbish for my birthday!" Katie yelled while Emily tried to hold back a snicker as she made the pancakes, obviously a lot smarter than her sister, knowing that what was inside the bag was definitely not rubbish.

"No, Katiekins, it's full of presents. Rob, why did you put them in a rubbish bag?" Jenna inquired her husband sternly.

"So it would be easier to carry them all, love… there are a lot of them and I don't have enough space in my arms…" He said, placing the bag beside Katie who rushed to open it with Britney looking over her shoulder curiously.

"Yes, but you made our daughter think that her parents don't love her and were giving her trash. We are great parents who love their children very much, we don't want them thinking otherwise. That was just stupid, Robert. I didn't believe you could do something so horrible."

Emily rolled her eyes, _it's only trash bags, give him a fucking break…_

Jenna's anger at Rob turned all too soon toward Emily, effectively removing any sympathy that Emily felt for the guy. "EMILY, hurry up with those pancakes, you should've gotten up earlier so we could have them right away! Already misbehaving…" Emily nodded apologetically and said sorry, trying hard to hurry up, burning her fingers a bit on the pan in the process… She didn't bother telling them though, because they would just tell her she's stupid and it's her fault for getting burnt, so instead she just did her best to get the cooking over with. She didn't even bring up the fact that she couldn't have gotten up earlier to make them breakfast even if she wanted to, because they lock her in the closet at night until she's let out when everyone else wakes up in the morning...

The little girl finished the pancakes off and set them on a platter, placing it in the center of the four-seater table. Of course, there was no room for her at the table because she wasn't included in their perfect-family-foursome. So she just left them to get their place settings, set it up for them, and left them alone again.

She remembered to thank Jenna when her mother said she could have one of the pancakes and eat it in her 'room', to let them have their breakfast in peace… She kept reminding herself not to be jealous of Katie who was having a party and getting all those presents because Jenna had said if she behaved she would get _one _present, which was enough to satisfy Emily.

When she was through eating, Emily left her closet to dispose of her paper plate and clean up the four-seater table of the rest of the family's breakfast. They were all long gone, probably out to buy Katie some more toys. She wasn't surprised when she saw a note on the table with a list of chores for her to do before the party, expected to be finished by the time they returned from the mall.

Her morning was spent by cleaning all the ripped wrapping paper that had been thrown onto the floor and by putting away Katie's toys into the bin of things that Emily wasn't allowed to play with. She then vacuumed and swept the rest of the house, wiped the windows, watered the plants, (one of the only chores she enjoyed), and set up the plastic ware on the picnic tables outside, on the porch for the birthday party.

Finding spare time, she spent it with one of the books she stole from Katie's bookcase, knowing her twin wouldn't notice because Katie never actually read anything other than fashion magazines that they were probably too young for anyway, and read it outside in the sun on one of the swings on their backyard swing-set.

She was able to hear the Fitch car pulling up in the front of the house and quickly ran back inside to hide the book inside her closet and run back into the kitchen to pretend to be still wiping the already wiped counters.

Jenna came strutting in with a tight-lipped smile on her face, "Emily, you did as you were told… so I'm going to reward you and let you come to the party… if and only if, you stay out of the way... When we went shopping I bought a new dress for you to wear." Jenna pulled out an ugly looking pink dress, something she knew Katie probably insisted on her wearing to make herself look better. Emily forgot her manners and frowned at the dress on the hanger. "You don't like it? Ungrateful children could always stay in their 'room' for the rest of the day."

"No, sorry, I love it! Thank you so much for getting it for me, even though you didn't have to. I really don't deserve it." Emily forced herself to smile and take it in faked gratefulness, from her mother.

"I know. You should thank your darling sister; she was being extra nice for thinking of you on her birthday and begging us to get it for you. Now go get ready, people will be coming in twenty minutes." Emily's guesses were confirmed, it had indeed been a plan of Katie's to make her more miserable.

Emily had then spent the majority of the party cleaning up trash that Katie's friends were dropping all over the place, probably deliberately for her to clean. She knew Katie's friends also enjoyed giving her a hard time, just as much as Katie did. Eventually, to Emily's relief the eating part was through and all the adults and children were gathering on the fold up chairs that were set up on the grass, to watch the magician that Jenna had ordered for the party.

There was one empty seat in the back that Emily ended up taking, trying to squeeze a peek between two adults who were sitting in front of her. From what she could make out, the magician was definitely for children; all his jokes were very corny, still, something about the magic act fascinated Emily. She knew that there had to be some trick that he did when nobody was looking to make everything work but this was the closest to watching T.V. she had ever gotten so she enjoyed it while she could.

It had only been about ten minutes before Katie started screaming and calling the magician names, the other girls copied her actions. They were bored and Katie could never be satisfied with anything given to her or done for her. So after a few awkward words aside with Rob and a glare from Jenna, who had calmed Katie down, the magician wiped his sweaty brow and looked around the 'audience.'

"Can I have a volunteer?" He called out. Nobody raised their hands, none of the children were interested, only listening because Jenna had begged them too, and because Katie was distracted with some promise for a new toy that Rob had used to quiet her for a bit. Emily started to feel bad for the guy who was obviously starting to get nervous under the pressure, so against her greater feelings telling her not to, she hesitantly raised her hand.

He repeated himself a couple more times, trying to sound more upbeat, before finally catching sight of Emily's waving hand in the back. "You there, in the back, why don't you come here little girl…" Everyone turned in their seats and looked at her; she stood up nervously and started walking towards him, fully aware of the annoyed glare she was getting from her mother. The magician got on one knee so he'd be closer to her height and started talking to her in his stage voice when she was near. "Hello there, what's your name?"

"Um, Emily." She whispered.

"What's that, love? I can't hear you."

"It's Emily." She whispered a little louder.

"You're going to have to be louder than that."

"For christ's sake, Emily, speak up!" Jenna shouted. The magician gave Jenna a weak smile and turned back to Emily.

"My name is Emily." The girl said, loud enough for everyone to hear that time.

"Lovely name, Emily is." She blushed when he complimented her, unused to kind words directed at herself and not her sister instead. "Do you believe in magic, Emily?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, come on! There's no such thing as magic! This is so dumb!" Katie shouted.

"Actually, yes… I think so." Emily changed her answer, ignoring the eye-roll from her sister.

"Let me tell you a secret about magic, Emily," He said, charmed by her sudden interest, although not really whispering, so Emily assumed this wasn't really much of a secret. He leaned in close to her ear, "All you have to say are the magic words to make wonderful things happen… Do you know what those magic words are, Emily?"

"Please and thank you?" She guessed, turning red with embarrassment when everyone laughed at her.

"Well, those words are very special, but not magical. I'm going to tell you the magic words, but you must promise to only use them for good, okay, Emily?"

"Okay." She said, trusting him because she wanted to so badly.

"The magic words are… Abra Kadabra!" He moved his hand away from her ear holding a giant bouquet of flowers which he didn't have before.

"That's stupid!" Katie shouted. All the rest of the kids watched as Katie got up to the magician and grabbed the flowers, kicked him in the balls, and stole his hat then stomped on it.

Emily just watched the magician with wonder as she was being pulled away by none other than the strong grip of Jenna Fitch until she was being shut away in her closet. She could hear the cold voice yelling at her from the opposite side of the door, "You ruined Katie's party! I'm very disappointed in you Emily. I expected much, much better from you. I knew I shouldn't have let you come to Katie's party; of course an ungrateful little brat like you would wreck it for everyone. You just had to be the center of attention, didn't you? You're life is going to be hell from now on, you stupid, stupid, selfish, little, girl, you have my word on that."

Emily heard the sound of the key being twisted in the lock, knowing that she'd be spending the rest of the afternoon and night without being let out when she then heard footsteps fade away. "What about my present?" She asked quietly, so quietly she didn't think anyone heard her. It frightened her when she heard Jenna's voice nearby again, "Naughty girls don't get presents." Jenna disappeared again when Emily banged her fists against the door, freely crying and shouting, "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE ALL OF YOU! I HATE KATIE! I HATE YOU, JENNA! YOU'RE ALL SO HORRIBLE!"

**To be continued. I don't want to tell you what's going to happen next… but I think it will certainly be a surprise. Thanks so much for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: HA. still nothing. **

**Did I forget to mention,this is AU? Probably. Did I also forget to mention I have no ownership over Harry Potter, or even better, Skins…? Well, I don't. –Sigh. Not all of us can get what we please. I think we, Skins fans, should unite and take over the world, make the Skins cast our entertainment slaves and force anyone who thinks otherwise to believe that Skins is the best show ever created. **

**Dark themes ahead... And so… the plot thickens… DUN, DUN, DUN….**

Chapter Two

It was the twin's seventeenth birthday and both the girls were going about their 'special day' routines separately; Katie had convinced Rob to take them all to Paris for some fashion show in honor of her seventeenth, while Emily was left alone to watch over the house in their absence.

Sure, the average person may have been upset they were being abandoned while the rest of their family was going on a grand vacation out of the country; however, Emily was the furthest thing from it. She would rather have stayed back than gone with them; considering, had she gone, she'd probably have had to spend all the time trapped in a cheap hotel room while everyone else went out. By staying at home, she had the freedom to do almost anything she wanted without the constant supervision of a very restrictive Jenna.

Essentially, Emily had planned out her weeklong 'vacation' around all the activities she wasn't allowed to do when everyone else was present. Being the first day she decided to ease into the newfound, yet to be short-lived freedom, with something small…

She got out of her closet, which was left unlocked as there would be no one to allow her out, and only because Jenna couldn't rationalize locking Emily away seven days straight, even if Jenna had wanted to… Then the younger of the twins rummaged the kitchen for breakfast; the fridge was pretty much empty aside from the atrocious food Jenna had started cooking a few months ago in some health craze that was apparently all the rage in the real world… The only times Emily ever really cooked anymore were when the parents were absent and Katie and Britney bribed her to make something edible, only stooping 'low' enough to beg her because they hadn't been able to eat anything good with the way Jenna was feeding them.

They happened to beg so often that it made Emily realize that she was actually on the better end of the deal, not being allowed to eat at the table with everyone, therefore not being under Jenna's glare, forced to eat the nasty sludge that their mother had cooked. Instead, she would leave the house to go out and buy something cheap yet much tastier than anything currently in their fridge.

The money in Emily's wallet was all an accumulation from having worked around the area during any spare time she had over the past few years. She had hoped she could save enough to move out and live on her own, support herself by finding a decent and reliable job. In truth it wasn't even like Jenna was helping her with anything other than board, which could be argued to be nothing at all because that only included a braking cot in a ruddy closet. (Although she was also given the opportunity to go to college, which Emily was sure to take advantage of; she made sure she excelled in all her courses in hopes that she would be awarded a full scholarship to a university far from the rest of the Fitches.)

As she had figured, there wasn't really anything in the cabinets either, of course Jenna wouldn't have been kind enough to go grocery shopping for Emily before they all left (grocery shopping tended to be another one of Emily's chores anyway)… So Emily ended up leaving the house, finding the moped she had secretly bought from some guy cheaply at a garage sale she happened to pass on a walk one day. To avoid it being found, and likely towed by Jenna, she had kept it hidden a few blocks down behind a couple bushes where a forest started to gather in a park. She knew it didn't look new enough for anyone to bother trying to hot wire and steal if they happened to come across it.

With the helmet she kept hidden under the cot in her closet in hand, she managed to pull the moped out of the bushes with only semi-trouble. She received a few surprised looks from children and parents in the mentioned park, but she was gone long enough before anyone could start questioning her regarding her strange antics.

She was practically smiling as the wind blew through the spaces in her helmet, into her hair as she drove past the other cars in the direction of her favorite small town casual restaurant. She pulled up to it and parked her moped in a small space left between two closely parked cars right in the front of it. She carried her helmet by the chin strips as she opened the chiming door, feeling the nice air conditioning kiss away the sweat on her skin that had gathered in the short amount of time it took to get from her moped to inside.

The place was regularly busy, but fortunately for her she was able to find herself the small booth towards the back which she usually liked to occupy. It was far from the front windows, assuring her she'd be out of sight of any of the women from Jenna's friendship circle who may be passing; not that any of Jenna's friends would dare to step in a restaurant that wasn't known to be of high-class people, five star food, and top service.

It was about thirty minutes before a pimple-faced teenager with a notepad appeared by her side, ready to take her order as if it was the most boring and dumb task in the world, even if he was getting paid to do so pleasantly. Still, his unhappy mood couldn't get Emily down, she splurged on herself and ordered a large burger and fries, something she knew Jenna would probably gasp and call some type of emergency nutritionalist if she saw her eating it.

She had her head resting on her arms folded on the plastic table top, while her brown eyes were having a staring contest with the pepper and salt, and some unidentifiable substance in a small puddle beneath them, evidence of the last person to use the booth… The waiter coughed to gain her attention, snapping her out of the blank staring contest. The guy looked at her like she was crazy when she took the plate of greasy food from him and sniffed it as if it were some sort of heavenly ambrosia. Twenty more minutes later she was sat in front of an empty plate, rubbing her small and flat stomach feeling very stuffed. She paid the waiter, not really able to afford much of a tip, not that he'd actually deserved it with his attitude anyway…

On her way out she paused to look at an older man with a giant burger in his hands about to take a bite. She did a double take when she realized it's the same man that was the magician at Katie's party exactly eleven years ago. He didn't notice right away when she sat down in the seat opposite him. It's only when he finished chewing and put down the burger that he saw her brown eyes boring into him.

"What the bugger do you want?" He grunted.

"You're the magician." Emily said.

"There's no such thing as magic, now fuck off and let me eat my food in peace."

"That's not what you told me eleven years ago."

The guy folded his arms, now genuinely annoyed by the girl sitting in front of him, disturbing his peaceful lunch. A lunch that he was eating in secret because his girlfriend would certainly not approve of the place it was made, because the owner of the food chain supported some oil company that was disposing their waste in unapproved territories… "Who the fuck are you?"'

"Emily." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't recall any Emily." His Irish accent is thick, and assures Emily this is definitely the same man from the party.

"You said my name was lovely."

"I say a lot of things."

Emily stared at him silently, clearly as annoyed by his rude behavior as he was by her unexpected and unwanted intrusion. The man scratched his beard and leaned back with a sigh, "What do you want, _Emily?"_

"I want you to tell me why you didn't help me." She met his eyes and didn't allow him to look away from her harsh glare. (Arguably fiercer than any glare Jenna could possibly give, if Jenna wanted it to be more so.)

"I don't know what you're talking about." He mumbled, his angry and bothered side shying away, possibly out of shame, much less confident than before.

"Oh yes you do."

"Listen, _Emily, _not everyone can be a hero. I certainly don't claim to be one." He said, admitting he knew what they were now talking about it, even if he wasn't saying so directly.

"I was six years old. You were a grown man, clearly you could have done something, more than I could."

"It wasn't my place to do anything."

"_Emily…" _He sighed.

"Don't say my name like that, like you're actually sorry… It was obvious Jenna was abusing me and you left the party with your paycheck. You walked right past that closet out of my life when it was obvious there was something very, very off."

"What did you expect me to do? Grab you and run away? It doesn't work like that…"

"You could have done anything and it would've fucking helped. Called the police, child services... something for fuck's sake!"

He looked away ashamed and very unsure what to say to her. After a minute of silence he looked around the restaurant, made sure no one else was paying them any attention before saying something to Emily, "So… are things um… better now?"

"Are you shitting me?" Emily lifted up her shirt a few inches; he looked away at first but then realized she wasn't going to pull her shirt down until he looked. He gasped when he saw a giant purple and green bruise the size of a large fist on her rib cage and stomach. She put her shirt back down satisfied by his reaction. "To answer you with words, no, nothing has gotten any fucking better." She pauses between each of the last three words, letting their depth sink in, hard and blunt.

"What do you want me to do, Emily?" He sighed again…

"Do you remember the secret you told me, at that party?"

"No…"

"You said that if I used the words Abra Kadabra wonderful things would happen."

"I remember that now… so, what about it?"

"That's what I would say over and over again when she'd beat me. I'd say Abra Kadabra in hopes that the wonderful magic man would come and rescue me."

"Yeah, well, magic doesn't work kid. I guess you learned that the hard way." He chuckled lightly, probably out of feeling uncomfortable.

"It's your fault I had to put up with her bullshit for eleven more years."

"I get it, kid. Just tell me what the fuck you want me to do..."

"Nothing. There's nothing you can do, you never rescued me, you fucked everything up."

"I didn't fuck anything up, your Mum fucked you up nice and proper, don't blame that bullshit on me. You were six years old, I imagine you knew how to use a telephone; you could've phoned for help yourself. No need for me to step in and be the catalyst."

A look of confusion passes over the man's face, but it is quickly contorted into pain when she quickly climbed out of her seat and punched him in the face. She grabbed the shirt around his neck and smashed her fist into his face repeatedly, "I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I FUCKING HATE YOU SO MUCH! ABRA KADABRA YOU FUCKING SODDY EXCUSE FOR A MAGICIAN!"

The man cried out in pain, she could hear him continue to whimper as she was being forcefully pulled off of him; her hands were being shoved behind her back while her body was shoved forward against a wall. Cold metal was locked tightly around her wrists; her kicking and screaming did nothing to help her escape. She ended up with a black eye by the time she's was being pushed into the back of a police car, unsure exactly when during the rush of the struggle she got it.

She could hear a few sentences being dutifully told over to her, nothing special, just the officer following protocol, "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you." Those were the last words she heard for a couple of hours before the severity of the situation dawned on her. It was in the cell when she finally broke down, despite trying so desperately to hold in her tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of the other people locked within the same cell.

Fortunately, none of them appeared to be the stereotypical inmates she imagined, all mean and hard-asses, instead they left her alone to sob softly on one of the benches hanging chained to the wall. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, which were pulled up to her forehead. Her face buried away from sight. Her swollen eyes arose from the darkness when she heard the clanking of the metal door and her last name being shouted by a strong male voice, "Fitch."

She looked into his eyes and found no pity, perhaps there was anger in them. It scared her that his anger could possibly be directed at her, that he could find a reason to hate her without even knowing the truth behind her actions. She couldn't help but feel guilt and ashamed for what she had done; she knew she didn't belong in a jail cell, that she shouldn't have taken out years of pent up aggression on a man who had coincidentally walked into her life the day everything became so much worse for her.

The officer motioned her out and stood aside as she slowly unfolded herself and walked towards him looking down at the floor. "Hands", he said. She looked up to give him a questioning look, unsure what he wanted, the way he wasn't talking in complete sentences. This time when she looked in his eyes she saw pity but only for half a second; perhaps he realized it was her first time in the system, and therefore what had happened wasn't really meant to happen. "Put your hands out in front of you." He clarified, slightly softer than he had spoken previously.

Emily's cheeks turned red with embarrassment as she lifted her arms dangling by her sides in his direction. Once again they were confined by the cold metal cuffs, the tightness was certainly not lacking, possibly cutting into her wrists a bit. "You can put them down now…" He said as he grabbed the top of her arm by her shoulder and led her down a hallway past security cameras, desks, and other officers and inmates.

He opened one of the doors that looked exactly the same as the numerous others they had passed on the way. The room was completely empty aside from a few cameras attached to the corners of the ceiling and a telephone chained to a metal table which was nailed to the floor. "You can make one short phone call. Anything you say on your phone call will be monitored by the station, don't do anything stupid. I'll leave you to it and return in a few minutes." He left the room right after his little speech.

She took a moment to take in a deep breath and noticed that her hands shook when she went up to the table to dial the numbers. She slowly brought the phone to her ear, begging herself not to cry. For the first time in her life she felt relief when she heard the all too familiar voice of her mother, "Hello, who's calling?"

"It's Emily, I'm at the police station."

"Sorry, I believe you have the wrong number." The phone line was quickly disconnected.

Emily knew she was only allowed one call, but something told her that the police were monitoring the conversations anyway so maybe they'd understand if she just tried one more time after the way that phone call went. Maybe Jenna misheard her, she thought… So Emily cleared her throat, in attempt to make herself sound more recognizable. She dialed the numbers a second time, slower in order to make sure she hit the correct ones. She was positive she dialed it correctly this time, but the phone went right to voice mail, Jenna didn't pick up.

"_Hi you've missed, Jenna Fitch. Please leave a message after the tone, thank you. Beep…"_

Emily lowered the phone, her hand shook harder than before, now, and she missed the base of the phone and hit the table. Her tears started to pour down her cheeks, hot trails dripped down onto her shirt. She sat slowly onto the floor and her breaths quickly turned from normal to an unhealthily fast pace. The officer from before rushed into the room just as she started wheezing, unable to control her breathing pace at all anymore. He tried to get her to slow down but instead her eyes rolled back into her head and everything faded to black.

When Emily woke up she was in a much smaller cell than the one she had originally been taken to when she first arrived. Oddly enough, she was lying on a metal cot very much like the one she slept on at home. The sheets here, however, were much cleaner, visibly whiter, and smelled like Lysol. Without thinking, she sat up and walked over to the metal door with a small window, too short to see out of out, even on her tip-toes. Her hands brushed along the smoothness of it, unable to find anywhere to hold or pull open. She stepped back a few feet and without a second thought she ran sideways into it, smashing her arm against the sturdy metal that didn't budge.

She immediately fell to the floor and cried while she clutched her arm that throbbed as pain shot up and down the length of it. "Back away from the door!" She heard shouted from the other side of the wall. She managed to move by giving herself a push with her feet off the wall, sliding as far away from it as her legs could stretch. A man in uniform ignored the way she screamed when he took her arm out of her grasp and cuffed her hands. She kicked and cried unrecognizable words as he picked her arm and carried her through a hallway of other metal doors that she didn't remember going through.

He held her tight and brought her through another door setting her down on the padded flooring in the corner of the room before leaving her alone and shutting the door, also padded on her side. She felt so isolated, as if she were trapped inside a mattress the way everything was covered in thick white padding that was stiff yet incomparably softer than metal. The metal cuffs were still wrapped around her wrists, blocking her from attempting to hold her arm and comforting herself. She ended up lying in the beetle position, with her face in the floor, as she cried at what little control she had over anything and the pain that she wasn't even allowed to try to soothe.

She had no idea what time it was when a different officer accompanied by a woman entered the room, securely shutting the door behind them. The man stood in front of the door while the woman crouched down beside her. Emily turned her head towards where she could see the woman's knees, looked up into green eyes pleadingly, yet struggling to stay open due to exhaustion.

"If you sit up and behave I can un-cuff you and care for that arm of yours. But, if you give me any problems, any at all, this man behind me has a tazer, which will most definitely feel a hell of a lot worse anywhere, than that arm of yours feels right now. Understood?"

Emily's whimper was accepted as a yes as she slowly eased herself up with the help of the woman's hands on her shoulders. The small girl didn't even notice as the door was quickly opened and shut again to pass in a small case which was given to the woman. She let out a small cry when the lady un-cuffed her wrists, now visibly red with the skin broken into and bleeding from the way she had squirmed and rubbed them raw when she fought the officers before.

"We'll patch those up too…" The woman sighed, noticing how Emily flinched when she bent them. She took Emily's wounded arm and pulled it straight gently, then slowly lifted up the sleeve of the shirt Emily was wearing. "Can you lift your arm above your head?"

Emily bit her lip and shook her head, no.

"Right then, I'm going to have to cut it off." The nurse sighed sadly when the fragile girl looked up to the male standing in front of the door, shyly. "Sorry but he has to stay… and he's not allowed to turn around; I would've requested a female officer but there weren't any available." The woman reached into her case and pulled out a scissors, carefully under the watch of the guard as she cut away Emily's shirt and put the scissors back away, out of the inmate's reach.

"You did a pretty damn good job." She muttered looking at Emily's arm, already bruising badly and swelling up. Emily looked down at her ribs and remembered the bruises from her mother, as well as the scars she knows are on her back. The nurse scanned her over, "They only reported a black eye, not… this." A single tear fell down Emily's face as the woman observed the wounds Emily had tried to keep hidden for so long; only three people had known about them; Jenna, herself, and the magician who only just found out today… now her secret was going to be under inspection of this woman who would possibly tell everyone, something Emily just couldn't handle.

Despite the pain in her arm Emily found the strength to move it and used her other arm so they were both blocking the woman's view of the various 'unreported' bruises. The nurse looked up at Emily, "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to look at those… I'll have to treat them and report them to the office." The woman gently tried to remove Emily's arms, but Emily was going to put up a fight if she had to.

"Please, don't make me." She whispered through her cries.

The woman sighed and gave the officer a look only the two of them could understand. She stood up and gave him the case. Emily believed that they were both going to leave her alone like she wished. Instead when the guard opened the door, taking the case with him, he shut it behind him, locking her and the nurse inside. "Wha-? I thought you…" Emily stuttered, confused.

The woman sat down beside the scared looking Emily who slowly inched away until her back collided with the padded wall. "My name is Mrs. Sheffer, Emily. I'm not only a nurse, but a social worker and psychologist as well. I've seen many inmates over the course of my career and I've seen many girls just like you." She looks Emily up and down, and Emily knows she's referring to the bruises. "You and I both know that those didn't come from your fight today. We also both know that your wrists were already cut up and likely in the process of healing _before _those handcuffs were put on you. And judging by the scars on your back, that are definitely out of your own arms reach and the way that some are fresh and some look to be very old, possibly a by few years, I'm guessing you've been having some problems for a very long time."

"I fight at school." Emily answered automatically, having prepared a statement long ago for her own 'protection.'

"Emily, working for the police station means I have access to the records of the inmates before I see them. I've already seen your grades, and the way you have A's in every course I have high reason to doubt that statement."

"I can still be smart and fight."

"That's very true. But I don't think that's the case. Not _your _case."

"Why not?"

"The teacher's notes on your report cards express your tendency to avoid other students, that you're very much a loner. So either you're very good at hiding your 'fights', considering to fight other people are necessary to be involved… or… you are a victim with a false and twisted sense of loyalty towards the reality of how this happened to you… or should I say, towards who did this to you?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Emily, if you tell me, I can help you."

"Why would you want to help me? You couldn't possibly get anything out of helping me. What would be the point? I don't have much money." (This was a lie, Emily did have a bit of money, but there was no way in hell she was going to give up her 'escape plan' so easily.)

"I don't want your money; I just want to make the world a better place, I want to help you."

"You can't."

"I _can _help you… but, I need your help to do it."

"That sounds like a line right out of a movie."

"I imagine it's in several movies, regardless, it's true. You can either help me, help you, or you can be another one of the girls who undeservedly get thrown around the system while the real criminals are let off the hook."

"I…"

**DUN DUN DUN. That was a bloody cruel cliffhanger. So, what do you think Em's is going to do? Hmm? Help herself or continue to be a victim? I imagine it's very hard to break out of that victim routine, so who knows…**

**Still have yet to find out where Naomi comes in…**

**Hope you like this… review please?**

**(In other news, I am inwardly scolding myself for not writing for some of my other stories… Alas I am free writer, writing what I'm in the mood for. By the way, the motivation isn't in telling me to update, the motivation comes when you tell me you enjoy a particular story. So yelling at me unfortunately isn't as successful as you'd probably like it to be…)**

**Furthermore, I honestly have no real idea of how the 'system' works, I'm just inferring my writing from the various jail reality shows I've watched… (As well as making what I want, happen…)**

**Also, did my best to try and keep it in one tense. May have missed a few bits… I think past is easiest, however sometimes I get a little caught up writing in the present moment as if I were standing in the room with them as it's happening…**

**LOL. one more thing. At one point Emily says, "Oh yes you do." Well, imagine her saying it in the same cold scary tone that Jenna uses when she tells Naomi to stay away from Emily. (I think it's in Katie and Emily's episode… of their first series…) (to which Naomi answers: "I'm not gay…") (hella yes. you are.) (I happen to be able to quote like the entire first series, (second not as much) for like any situation. It's incredibly amusing.)**

**SORRY so many author notes. I'm in New York on my vacation right now and I'm trying to get as much writing done as possible before I return and have to get busy again…. (I'd upload this right after I wrote it but I have no access to wifi until I'm back home… so you're stuck waiting…) **

**K done now. I'd love some reviews though, in case you had forgotten already… hehe.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**K so, I know I was only going to give one update a day for four days, but I'm impatient and personally, it's easier to read of my ipod and edit when it's posted. So I'm giving you the next two chapters ahead of schedule. (the last one was also early I suppose..) Lucky you. **

**Holy shit. I just had like one of those moments where you see something happening in a future chapter, and it's like really an emotional moment for the characters, like the climax of the story. I don't know exactly when it'll happen, but like this one line screamed out at me from the show. Although it's like so sad, cause it's a bit of role reversal… (That's your hint… "role reversal…" Ten bucks if you guess the line, although you won't know until I actually write it…) (No promises, considering I have the annoying habit of changing my mind for the future when I finally get there…) (I think I said 'like' too many times…)**

Chapter Three

**(Previously…)**

"_I can help you… but, I need your help to do it."_

"_That sounds like a line right out of a movie."_

"_I imagine it's in several movies, regardless, it's true. You can either help me, help you, or, you can be another one of the girls who undeservedly get thrown around the system while the real criminals are let off the hook."_

"_I…"_

**(Currently…)**

"Emily, please, you know you want to… just tell me the truth." The woman tried to give Emily the extra push she thought she needed.

"Don't tell me what I want to do." With that, Emily completely closed herself off from further conversation effectively by pulling her knees back up and hiding her face. Honestly, she wished she wasn't so stubborn, she wished she hadn't said that, she wished she were brave, but from experience, she knew wishes never got you anywhere in life, and neither did people who appeared to be promising heroes.

"Emily… don't do this… please." The woman's selfless pleas were useless, so she resigned being social worker for the time being and knocked on the door to get the guard back as well as the first aid to fix Emily up. When she was done, Emily's arm was plastered and in a sling, her cuts bandaged, her bruises iced, and her scars treated with cream to avoid any possible infections. (The nurse assumed Emily didn't take care of them properly; the way she had the intentions to keep them hidden meant she probably never saw a professional even for the very serious looking ones.)

Before Mrs. Sheffer left she broke the long silence with a few words, "I'm going to fight for you Emily. I'm not going to let you down like everyone else in your life has. I promise things _will _get better for you." She shut the door behind her, leaving Emily back in solitary confinement.

Emily had no idea how many times she'd done so already, but she cried again until sleep finally crashed over her and swept any of her worries and memories of broken promises away.

"Wake up, Fitch. You have a busy day ahead of you." There was a guard inside the cell now. Emily looked at her for a moment and realized it was a woman, unlike all the other guards. She was kind of happier it was a female because she had slept with her shirt up and her skin exposed because she had gotten very hot at some point during her sleep. (This however was a t-shirt given to her by the nurse because her original shirt had been cut up when it was taken off of her to treat her arm…)

Because of her sling being in the way, they had allowed her to go without handcuffs; Mrs. Sheffer had determined her injuries too fragile to possibly risk her bending her arms in the wrong way if they were restricted.

Oddly, for the first time in a long time Emily was able to feel the pain of all the bruises and scratches she had received over the years. Yesterday was when the numbness had begun to fade away and as a result she found herself too sore to lift herself up with just one arm. The officer had sympathy and helped Emily up, keeping the girl steady as she escorted her into an office.

Instead of cuffing Emily's arms the woman cuffed her ankles together and then attached them to a chair with another pair of cuffs. The tired girl sat there patiently and waited while the officer sorted some paperwork with the man at the desk before returning and unlocking the cuffs that kept her attached to the chair. She helped Emily up again and they walked through another couple of doors that had to be unlocked, loudly buzzing before they were opened and allowed to pass.

"Fitch, you need to get out of your civilian clothes and change into this." The officer walked them into a room filled with locked lockers and another door on the other side. She unlocked one of the various lockers and pulled out a small blue jumpsuit.

"What about my arm?" Emily asked. At the moment, her arm was resting in its sling, inside of her shirt, next to her bandaged skin.

"You'll just keep your arm out of the sleeve like you've done now."

Emily nodded sadly and tried to lift the t-shirt up with one arm. It proved to be too difficult, getting stuck around her head, her arm not long enough to pull it much farther up. Frustrated she let it drop back down; a new tear fell down her cheek.

"Don't cry…" The officer sighed, as she stepped closer to Emily. The small girl wiped away her tear and sniffed. She couldn't believe she was seventeen years old and had been constantly crying like a baby over the past two days, not cutting herself any slack based on the circumstances.

Emily reached down and unzipped her pants, knowing better than to turn away from the officer as she did so; they were supposed to watch her in case she had some sort of weapon concealed or something like that… She tried to shimmy her way out of them and ended up nearly falling on her face, luckily the officer was kind enough to catch her and help her upright again.

"That arm has got to be one hell of a pain in the ass…"

Emily found the humor that was intended in the woman's words and laughed weakly before the officer smiled and spoke up again. "Now you may say it's obvious that you aren't able to do this yourself, but I'm supposed to ask anyway… Do you need assistance?"

"Uhm, yes... please." Emily sighed, giving a slight smile in return. She found it comforting the way this woman had so far acted less about protocol and more about the point of the matter.

"Glad you are smart enough to not be stubborn like most others around here… But just so you know, if you try anything, I'm more than twice your size and definitely stronger than you. It would be incredibly stupid and not worth it in anyway to try and use my offer to help as some way to try and take advantage of the situation."

"My arm is broken, I don't think I'm in any position to try and overtake you."

"Smart, smart, girl…" The woman laughed light-heartedly as she crouched down and helped Emily get her pants off. She wasn't worried when Emily steadied herself with her working arm on her shoulder, just kept a professional, yet rational awareness of what could happen with her guard slightly down. With Emily free of her pants, the officer stood up again and helped Emily pull her shirt over her head. "Shit…"

"What?" Emily asked, and then noticed the woman looking over her wounds. "Oh."

"I'm so sorry, love..."

"Yeah, well. Sorry doesn't do shit." Emily assumed Mrs. Sheffer likely told the officer her suspicions. She didn't fail to notice the term of endearment though, it made her want to be a child again, let this stranger hold her and tell her everything would be alright. But that wasn't reality, and right now she had been given a set of instructions to follow. So resuming what routine she could, she passed the officer and grabbed the jumpsuit.

Emily leaned against the lockers for support as she slipped her legs through the holes. It took a couple minutes longer than it would take an average person but she managed to get it on and button it closed. The officer regretted her slip of professionalism, and tried to hide the sympathy from showing outwardly anymore than it already had. The small girl stood dressed in front of her, waiting for the next set of instructions.

"Mrs. Sheffer, was up all night fighting for you, she got you a place in a special unit while you await trial." Emily could sense that the officer didn't have to tell her that Mrs. Sheffer was up all night on her behalf. She knew that there was a reason she was being told; a reason that was likely solely for the purpose of showing Emily that she was worth something to someone, not some valueless rag meant for beating around. "A bus that is going to arrive in about...," she looked at her watch, "five minutes will take you there."

They waited in an empty room with a bench for few minutes before going outside into the fenced in car lot. She helped Emily climb onto the bus before chaining Emily's ankles to a special loop in the metal bar below the seats. Nobody else got on the mini-bus besides for her and the guard. It was just them and the driver for forty minutes while passing plain landscapes until they went through a couple more guarded gates in the front of a large facility. It happened to look much more like a modern apartment complex than the jail she had been expecting.

When Emily was released from the cuffs chaining her ankles to the seat, they weren't returned once they were off the bus. Essentially, she was free, however, the woman's hand on her shoulder assured her she wasn't going anywhere other then inside the building in front of them.

Similar to the previous place, the doors buzzed before they were allowed to enter, closing once they were inside. Emily found herself incredibly surprised when she saw leather couches and a reception desk with a friendly woman sitting behind it typing away on a computer. The doors here weren't metal, they were wooden; not built to lock away or keep people from running like the gates outside were…

"Emily Fitch, Number 0192395," the guard recited.

The woman behind the desk turned in her swivel chair and pulled a few papers out of a file in a cabinet. "Yes, her papers were shipped just under an hour ago… she's all set to check-in. Just need you to fill out a few things before I send her on back."

Emily stayed silent while the two exchanged official lingo which she couldn't understand as the officer signed the papers. It was only a few more minutes before she was being led through a glass door in the back. She watched the guard swipe a card through a little black box attached to the wall, a small light flashed green before they entered the door.

**Short, yeah. But it's one in the morning and I need to go to bed… (and I just wrote the previous chapter as well… (and edited the first and second) so cut me some slack?) **

**Review my loves…**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: seeing as I'm already up to the fourth chapter, and still haven't posted any part of this story I'm just going to assume it's going well, and say THANKS. ;)**

Chapter Four

The room they entered was much like the entry; the walls were painted in pastel colors and the floor was carpeted. A few square tables and chairs were scattered around the room, but there were no other signs of people ever having been in the room.

Emily was taken into a separate room, allowed to go in on her own this time. She looked around and realized it was an office; papers stacked all over a desk, the walls were lined with bookcases and file cabinets. Unsure of what to do with herself, she took a seat on one of the couch chairs in front of the desk, and enjoyed the feeling of the soft cushion beneath her.

Her head quickly turned to the door when it was pushed open a couple minutes later as Mrs. Sheffer walked in and closed it behind herself. "Would you like something to drink Emily? Perhaps some tea?"

"No, thanks."

"Water? You look very thirsty. You probably are hungry too; it's been awhile since you last ate. I'll have them bring in a sandwich for you shortly." Before Emily could answer a water bottle that was hidden behind one of the filing cabinets was placed in her hands. She gave Mrs. Sheffer a small nod of thanks before opening it and drinking more than half of it down, only just realizing how thirsty she actually had been. "Don't worry, I have more, drink," Mrs. Sheffer assured her.

Mrs. Sheffer sat down at the desk and opened a drawer to pull out another two water bottles and place them on the edge of the desk in front of Emily. Despite her thirst, Emily just finished the one water bottle and waited for the real purpose of why she's here to be brought out into the open.

"I have some good news for you. However, I can only set things in motion if you agree to comply with me today." Mrs. Sheffer leaned forward.

"I thought we sorted this…"

"Emily, please, I can get you out of here and into safety. I'll make it nice and easy for you, okay?"

Emily nodded slowly.

"I've managed to get you out with just a warning. The private judge I worked with looked at your outstanding grades and took notice that the fight yesterday was your only offense on record. We both agreed that you have the potential to leave the system without the likelihood of ever committing an offense again. You just have to sign this statement right here, confessing to having done such offense and you'll be one giant step closer to being _'sorted.'_"

"Okay..." Emily accepted the pen handed to her and signed the document. She tried to force herself to read over the print but it was too long and she kept reading the same sentences over and over again without getting further or actually taking any of it in, so she just pushed it away in hopes she didn't sign anything she shouldn't have.

"Emily, I'm going to be very to the point with you, it hasn't been said outright to you yet and I want to make sure you understand, considering the severity of this is very high... Are you okay with that?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, Emily, it matters very much so. I'm not going to force you into anything, whether it means you hearing something or you doing something. I'm here to help _you_ and that means giving _you_ choices."

"Okay, go on..."

"I suspect abuse."

"What?"

"Specifically, verbal and physical abuse, more than likely from a figure at home."

"It's not."

"Emily… I need you to be completely honest with me. I can offer you protection if you tell me you need it."

"There's nothing you can do. Don't you think I know? I've lived with _her _for seventeen years! Don't you think I've tried to protect myself? It can't be done. Don't waste your time..."

"For fuck sake, Emily, this isn't a waste of time! _You _aren't a waste of time. You need to understand that right now you have the opportunity to help yourself, and right now you're hurting yourself more than the person who gave you those bruises, by denying my help, by continually denying you're worth anything."

She isn't sure whether it's because it's the truth or because Mrs. Sheffer was acting genuinely angry only out of concern for the sake of Emily's welfare, that Emily started to cry. She was overwhelmed and didn't want to be there, she wanted to run away but she knew she couldn't, she had nowhere to go. "I need help..." Emily confessed in a whisper through her tears. Mrs. Sheffer quickly got up and pulled Emily into her arms, careful not to squish Emily's injured arm, yet hold her tight enough to give the girl some proper comfort and sense of security.

"It's going to be okay. I promise… that's all you needed to say. Shhh. Shhh. It's okay now."

Emily was laying down on one of the couches in the lobby, when she opened her eyes and saw the woman who had been assigned her officer, sitting on a chair next to her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah. Kind of…" Emily sat up and stretched her arm while she yawned.

"You slept for a few hours, there."

"What happens now?" Emily asked quietly.

"I think Mrs. Sheffer plans on telling you, she should be out here in a minute or so…. Speaking of…"

Mrs. Sheffer strolled into the room and sat down next to Emily on the couch. "Feeling better, Emily?"

"A bit, thanks."

"I'm very glad to see you got some rest…"

"Would you- Could you just…?"

"Get to the point?" Mrs. Sheffer finished the sentence Emily was having a hard time getting out. Still lost for words, Emily just nodded in response. "I suppose I can; your claims are being investigated and based on the visible amount of physical harm you've taken whether or not it's because you are telling the truth, it's been decided that until the investigation comes to some decent evidential conclusions, it would be in your best interest to be placed in a foster home."

Emily's face was unreadable; her eyes just blinked with a blank expression, her mouth was not smiling nor was it frowning.

"Okay, Emily?"

"I-I'm not sure."

"I'd be checking in on you regularly; you and I would have a session together once a week _at least_… unless it became necessary to see each other more frequently. If anything were to make you feel uncomfortable you'd have a mobile I'll be giving you when I drop you off so that you can have a direct line to me at any time. If you feel like your life is in danger then you can call the police and they'd take you into protection under high priority. You're still a minor, being seventeen, so you will have to listen to your temporary guardian, although I promise they only have your best interests at heart with any of their rules…"

"I still… I just, I don't know."

"How about I introduce you to the arranged foster parent and then allow you to decide? I think you'll be more than happy with who I selected to foster you."

"I guess."

"Emily, to be fair, I really want you to try, okay? The easier you get on with your foster parent, the easier it'll be for us to complete the investigation, knowing you're well taken care of."

"Okay."

"I'd like to leave now, she's expecting us."

"Now?" Emily asked surprised by how quickly this was all happening.

"Breath Emily, control your breathing. There's nothing to worry about. I'm not going to leave your side until you say so." Mrs. Sheffer put her arm around Emily's shoulders and escorted her outside, leaving the guard behind after a few kind words of good luck and thanks were swapped.

She helped Emily buckle into the front seat of her small, black BMW and shut the passenger door before walking around the car and getting in the driver's seat. "I hope you don't mind the radio, I just am not a big fan of silence. Although if you do mind… feel free to say so… and I'll turn it off." She turned up the radio to a pop station she thought Emily would enjoy, like most normal teenagers. Mrs. Sheffer didn't really care what kind of music they listened to, just anything to fill in the empty silence of the car ride, knowing Emily was probably not in the mood for talking…

Emily wasn't really paying any attention to the music, she just watched out the window, looking at all the signs that meant they were going further and further away from the place she was supposed to call 'home'. She had nodded off fairly soon after the amount of signs slowed and they drove into the country.

She felt a few gentle taps on her shoulder and woke up, noticing the music was turned off and the car wasn't moving. "Emily, we're here." Her big brown eyes slowly fluttered open, she thought they were going to be in the country because that was the last type of landscape she saw out the window, but now she was looking at road lined with town houses.

Mrs. Sheffer got out of the car to open Emily's door and help her up. Emily didn't have any bags with her and wondered where she was going to get stuff she'd need for the amount of time she'd be staying in the foster home. She hoped that she wouldn't be given some stash of blue jumpsuits… Her worries changed when they were standing in front of one of the houses, _What if they don't like me? What if they are secretly just as bad as Jenna? What if they give me back to Jenna? What if Jenna finds me? This could make everything worse…_

The social worker rang the doorbell and gave Emily a gentle squeeze of the shoulder before the door was swung open by a middle-aged blonde woman. "Hello, love, you must be Emily!" She quickly pulled the smaller girl into a hug despite the squeal of objection.

"Gina, her arm is broken."

"Oh, fuck! Sorry! Shit, I'm not supposed to swear in front of either of you…" Gina let go of Emily to cover her mouth. "Old habits die hard…" For a second Emily allowed herself to be amused by the woman.

"Its okay, Gina, she's not as young as the other ones…" Mrs. Sheffer excused the behavior.

"Certainly not... Seventeen, right? By far the oldest we've ever had around here; that is if you don't include my biological seventeen-year-old daughter…Come in, come in… let's all sit at the table and have a cup of tea, unless you prefer coffee on the couch?" Gina chuckled lightly while guiding the two others inside the house. "Naomi's upstairs working, always busy that girl… So Emily, I'm told you do well in school, like my Naomi, that's very nice."

Emily understood that Gina making the association between her and Naomi wasn't some way she was trying to sneak in a way to brag about her daughter like Jenna would have done; it was more about finding common grounds, genuinely wanting to relate and share that proud feeling with her. "Um, yeah, I guess… kept my mind occupied…" The smaller girl wasn't sure why she added that last part but noticed the shared glance between Mrs. Sheffer and Gina…

Three high-pitched beeps went off and Mrs. Sheffer reached for the pager attached to the skirt of her suit. "Christ, there's an emergency at the station… Emily, may I have a word with you in private?"

"Oh, don't mind me; I'll just leave you both to it for a moment." Gina left the room brushing away the thanks Mrs. Sheffer was throwing her way.

"You're going to leave me now, aren't you...?" Emily said bluntly.

"Only if you think you're okay without me."

"I don't _need_ you." Emily was now bothered.

"Don't answer me out of spite, Emily. We are going to have to help you solve your authority and independence issues. I'm trying to help you and if you want me to stay I'll stay. You have no reason to feel ashamed if that's the case, it's what I'm here for."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's a learning process. I'm an adult and I understand what you're going through is very complicated and overwhelming, and that sometimes it's easier to put up a front and push everything away than to make hard choices that could end up with scary consequences. So, to clarify, I understand you don't _need _me, I'm asking if you'd like me to stay with you and Gina longer."

"She's okay."

"Good, I'm proud of you, Emily. You're being very brave. Here's the cell phone I promised. There's all the numbers you may need labeled in there, including my own. Don't hesitate to call me, even if it's for something small. If you need to talk, I want you to know that either I or Gina are here for you. Gina will help you get anything else you need while you stay here, so don't worry about money or anything like that. And try not to worry about those other things too much, okay?"

Emily didn't answer. She didn't think she had the power to not worry about the other things because everything around her reminded her of the reason she had to stay at a foster home in the first place… She just gave a look that Mrs. Sheffer would understand that meant she thought be okay.

"I'll talk to you in the morning. Remember to call me for anything at all if you need to before then. I can even pick you up at anytime at all if you need me to. Don't hesitate. Good luck, Emily! I'm going to keep my promises! Oh! And Gina should have some painkillers I sent over earlier for your arm in case it bothers you, and some sleep medication as well to help you get back into a regular schedule. Bye, dear! Bye, Gina!" Mrs. Sheffer gave Emily's visible hand a squeeze, (something she seemed to be getting a lot of recently), before exiting the town house.

Emily wandered into the hallway near the entryway, unsure where Gina went, and ended up looking at a few framed pictures hung up on the wall. She saw a few pictures of a teenaged blonde girl and guessed it they were probably Gina when she was younger until she saw a different picture with Gina and the teenage girl from the other pictures together… She then remembered Gina mentioning something about having a daughter her age… the one who was apparently into school and stuff…

Her head snapped up in the direction of the staircase when she heard someone coming down them. The sound frightened her, the way it reminded her of hearing the sounds of feet hitting the wood above her head when she was locked under the staircase at Jenna's house. She fell to the floor because her knees were trembling so hard from being frightened. It was as if she was back under the staircase locked up inside the closet again.

"Shit, are you okay?"

Before Emily actually noticed what the girl crouching in front of her had said, she noticed the girl's piercing blue eyes looking at her. It took her a second to compose herself, realizing she was staring. She had already forgotten that she fell and had a disturbing flashback a few seconds ago…

"What?" Emily asked, unsure of what was just said to her.

"Did you hit your head on something? How many fingers am I holding up?" Naomi didn't realize that Emily was just distracted and didn't hear her first question. She was actually concerned that the smaller girl did something to affect her thought processing.

"Three."

"Oh, good. You're okay…"

"Um, yeah, thanks." Emily attempted to lift herself off the floor but ended up falling on top of the blonde who was crouched in front of her. "Shit, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, let me help you." Naomi helped Emily up so that they were both standing upright.

The shorter girl realized the blonde was staring at where her arm should have been poking through one of the sleeves. "Oh, it's just broken."

"Broken…? I think you need to have an arm for it to be… _broken…_" Naomi chuckled, amused by her own dark humor…

Surprisingly Emily found it funny, "I'm not missing any arms, just my broken one is inside the jumpsuit. Hurt too much to bother trying to get it through the stupid sleeve…See?" Emily wiggled her sling a little bit inside the blue jumpsuit; Naomi hadn't noticed the protruding spot before…

"Fuck, I'm stupid." Naomi muttered.

"That's not what I heard…" Emily muttered back.

"Sorry?" A look of confusion passed over Naomi's features.

"I just… I… sorry… I meant nothing by it…" Emily said, embarrassed now.

"No, you obviously meant something by it…"

"Your Mum just um, mentioned something about you being smart." Both girls blushed, only Naomi's looked much worse because her skin was much whiter compared to Emily's olive-y complexion.

"That's embarrassing…" Naomi mumbled.

"At least she's proud of you…" Emily mumbled back…

"Yeah well… at least… fuck it, you win." Naomi mumbled in return, while she shifted on her feet.

Both girls were startled when Gina walked in, "Jesus you girls mumble a lot, you're both going to have to start annunciating and speaking louder if you ever expect anyone else to understand you."

"Mum! Were you just watching us?"

"Possibly... I was just hoping you'd be alright…"

"Are you joking? She doesn't look very threatening, she's tiny… As much as I know you love me and only want to protect me, I honestly think you need to stop over-analyzing these things…" Naomi sighed.

"I was actually talking about, Emily, hun." Gina chuckled.

"What?" Naomi was clearly surprised.

"You can be a bit of a bitch to new people, love. Nothing personal…"

"You've got to be shitting me…" Naomi mumbled…

"What, I can't hear you love… speak English…" Gina chuckled again.

"I understood her." Emily said clearly, her words caused Naomi to look up and meet her eyes, both sharing a quick smile, perhaps some sort of truce was made in that moment, before looking away from each other.

"Right then, I suppose you two will only be communicating with each other the way you're both mumbling so much… when you want to tell me what you girls want for dinner just write it down on a piece of paper so I we don't have any misunderstandings…" Gina continued to chuckle and left the room to go get started in the kitchen and clean up a few dishes to set the table.

The both stood in silence for a minute before Naomi couldn't bare it anymore. "Don't believe her, I'm not a bitch…"

"I think she was just teasing you…"

"Right, well, just in case," Naomi held out her hand, "I'm Naomi Campbell. I swear, if you laugh at my name, I will change my mind and be a complete bitch right here and now."

Emily bit her lip not to laugh, slightly scared at the possibility of losing her first ever friend. _Is that what this was? The beginnings of a friendship? _Emily had no idea where that thought came from, and quickly pushed it aside in order to be polite, "Emily… um…" She didn't really want to tell Naomi her last name, would prefer not to admit it out loud, because it wasn't as if she was ever really a part of the 'Fitch' family anyway.

"Nice to meet you Emily 'Um'…." Their hands touched and they both quickly pulled away, each feeling goose-bumps run up their arms the instant they had felt each other's softness. "So… Emily _'Um', _I'm not one to judge, but may I ask why you are wearing a jumpsuit?"

"I had to go to jail for a day…"

"What?" Naomi's mouth dropped open and her eyes widened a bit. She had been expecting some sort of answer like Emily only had a second to grab something to wear, or that Emily worked at some type of gas station, or that Emily…something, less... well… anything but 'I had to go to jail for a day.'

"I um, beat up a guy…" Emily mumbled, trying to look away from those piercing blue eyes and find something else to possibly ask about and change the topic.

"You… beat up a guy? Are you like hiding a metal arm inside that jumpsuit or something?"

"No.… do I really look that weak and pathetic?"

"Maybe it's just cause you're small and bandaged up that I'm finding this hard to believe."

"Well, those were from something else… the guy didn't really do much to provoke me, he didn't fight back either…"

"Just some bloke who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"I suppose."

"Shit." Naomi shook her head with resemblance of disbelief. "Right, well, I have no reason _not_ to believe you… _yet… _so the side of me that 'doesn't get on well with new people' is going to offer you a change of clothes…"

"That would be really great…thanks."

Naomi nodded her head in the direction of the steps, "Why don't you go up first, so I can be behind you in case you um, get off balance, being one-armed and all…"

"You sure you don't just want to stare at my ass?" Emily blushed immediately after she said that, having no idea where that came from. She inwardly kicked herself for being so stupid. She hoped Naomi wouldn't take it personally as some kind of lesbian crack, when she hardly even knew the girl.

"Yeah, that baggy jumpsuit just makes you look super sexy…" Naomi rolled her eyes. Emily let out a breath of relief she wasn't aware she had been holding, knowing that Naomi's retort back had meant no harm was done. "Come on, up you go, sexy pants…" Naomi chuckled playfully, and bit her lip.

Emily gave in and climbed up the steps, secretly thankful that Naomi was behind her because she ended up tripping and nearly tumbling all the way back down… _twice._

"On your left, there." Naomi said from behind her. The shorter girl entered the room and audibly gasped in awe, never having seen something so uniquely and intriguingly decorated. There was a chain of little orange bulbs hanging from one end of the room to the other, political posters she had seen in random places when she left home scattered on the walls, and most importantly, the bed was humungous compared to the cot she used to sleep in. She couldn't resist taking a step closer and feeling it with her hand, pressing it gently as if the whole thing could collapse if she touched it with any more force.

Naomi noticed the unusual behavior and decided to take a chance at pushing the smaller girl, "You can try it out if you like…"

"What?" Emily was taken aback. She hadn't ever slept on something that looked so soft and comfortable. Just by the way the mattress gave easily melded beneath her hand, it instantly gave her a feeling of relaxation.

"Go on, climb on, give it a test. It's a lot comfier than it looks."

"What do you mean, it _looks _incredibly comfortable…" Emily looked back at the bed, confirming her statement.

"I'm only kidding… you can try it out while I look for something that'll fit you… which may prove to be a bit difficult, you're quite a bit shorter than I am…"

"Wow." Emily slowly lowered herself onto the bed, backwards so she didn't land on her arm. She used her feet to center herself, allowing her eyes to flutter shut and just feel the complete comfort swallow her whole.

A minute later Naomi turned around with a t-shirt and pair of shorts in hand, "These may be a little bit big... but they're as close as I thi-" Naomi saw Emily's arm inside her jumpsuit evenly rising and falling to the pace of her breathing. "sure, test it out… fucking hell. Should've had you test out the one in the guest room you're were supposed to be staying in... Emily?" She put the clothes on the end of the bed frame and walked over to the side, now able to hear the soft sighs as Emily exhaled in her sleep.

She lifted Emily's good arm an inch off the blanket and let go of it, watching it fall limp onto the bed, Emily didn't stir due to the motion. "Out cold. Alrighty then... Goodnight, Emily _'Um'_, I'll see you in the morning…" Naomi sighed and turned out the lights before she went downstairs to find out what her Mum made for dinner.

**I really hope that I've managed to stay in character even though this is AU… it's a bit of a complicated task… that being said, leave a review and let me know what you think… LOVES YA k thanks.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: thanks to those of you who are reading… Just briefly a few personalized thank you's**

**Muffmuncher – I'm always indebted to your lovely thoughts, it amazes me that you still take the time to review every chapter (on every story of mine I believe) and other people's too. People like you make writing very much worth it…**

**Portamento – I read your review and was like "WOT" O_O. Like ready to cry, I was incredibly flattered. Just wow. To say you thought I stayed close in character and maintained a believability is just exactly what I was hoping for, and although I still worry about that issue, I just… wow, thanks. Your review also managed to slightly amuse me, because however way I read it, it seemed to make it look like I put much more thought into this than I think I can own up to. So, I feel like I owe you and will definitely be working harder to keep an open mind of "the many possibilities" you have seemed to imagine, that I still have yet to discover… Lol… **

**To everyone else, I feed off your reviews and it gives me a lot to consider and think about, I can truly say you all continually help me to be a better writer… **

Chapter Five

Emily woke up startled by a cold touch to her foot. She relaxed when she saw that above her eyes was a flat ceiling and not the staircase she had regularly woken up to. The cold touch by her foot slid up to her ankle and caused her to avert her attention to the general direction of where her feet were. She noticed she was actually under a heavy blanket now, unsure how that happened because when she fell asleep she could've sworn she was on top of it. She shrieked when she realized the thing that felt cold on her foot was in fact moving, her eyes searching the blanket for the source until she finally looked beside her and saw a streak of suddenly familiar blonde poking out from beneath a pillow.

The whole lump under the blanket shifted to Emily's surprise, causing her to fall off the bed and land on her back with a loud thud. When she opened her eyes after the impact while trying to slowly breathe away the pain that had returned to her arm, she saw the blonde now very much awake holding herself up on her two arms on the edge of the bed, looking down at her. "Fuck, are you okay?"

"Mostly…"

"I swear I'm going to have to fucking cover all the floors in the house with mattresses the way you have such a knack for falling…"

"Are you serious?" Emily is taken slightly aback by Naomi's ability to have a sarcastic mouth so early in the morning. Then again, if Katie wasn't the type to sleep in, she would probably have been just as bad or even worse…

"You're right, that would be impractical. We should just cover you in hockey gear; that would be plenty easier…"

"Ha, ha, very funny…." Emily muttered back while she leaned on one of her elbows, and slightly smiled.

"Face it Emily, you've been here less than twenty-four hours and all you've done so far is consistently prove yourself to be a floor-magnet…" Naomi chuckled.

"Fuck off." Emily returned, playfully.

"Suit yourself; let me know if you'd like to come back to bed anytime soon." Naomi challenged, lying back under the covers of the bed, turned away from Emily who struggled to get off the floor.

"Naomi?"

"Yeah?" Naomi smiled without facing Emily, thinking she won the small battle and that Emily was going to beg her now to help her back up.

"Why were we sharing a bed?"

Naomi coughed, taken off guard by a question she hadn't been expecting. Emily recognized Naomi's surprise, but didn't mock Naomi about it; instead she just expounded on her question, actually interested in the answer, "I mean you did mention you have a guest bed… so…?"

Naomi scooted back to the edge of the bed towards Emily and leaned her head on her propped up elbow while looking back down at the girl on the floor, "If you must know, I'm incredibly picky about mattresses, and this happens to be the only one in the house that I like. So my options were to either sleep here, or to make a restless attempt at sleeping somewhere else… I thought the better choice was obvious; in fact, I still do, despite your questioning…"

"You had a third option." Emily returned the matter-of-fact tone Naomi had used.

"Yeah? Well, I wasn't going to sleep on the floor… if that's what you're saying." Naomi wasn't a morning person and wasn't the most interested in having a full-on debate when she was more interested in sleeping. Still, she couldn't deny it was refreshing to talk to someone who wasn't afraid to call her out, people like that didn't come around often, and for that reason she didn't just ignore the smaller girl and go back to sleep.

"I suppose you had four options then…" Emily wasn't going to back down.

"If it's impractical it doesn't count, and I already had considered the practical options…" Honestly, Naomi was perhaps a little bit over-confident. In school, she tended to be the one to set the teachers in a bad mood because she would start an argument and stubbornly hold her own opinion even if she had come to the acknowledgement that she was no longer correct. Perhaps it was a little bit of pride confused with strong passion…

"No, it would've been _very_ practical…" Notably, the stubbornness was mutual.

"Well then, lay out your brilliant fourth option, Emily _'Um'…" _Naomi sighed in preparation for what was to come.

"You could have woken me up and sent _me _to the guest room…"

"Oh Emily, you have much to learn… for one thing, sleep is a very, very, _very _important art form to me, and I have a lot of respect for it. And with such respect comes rules, like not waking up others… so, by default, waking you was not an option." She bit her lip to hide the smile that was fighting to spread across her face, secretly amused and interested by her own ability to make up such bullshit on the spot, being consistent by not allowing herself to be proved wrong. She knew she was talking bullshit, and evidently so did Emily…

"What the fuck…?"

"Fine, you want the boring and simple answer? You were out cold, I tried waking you and you didn't really budge much, and I couldn't be arsed to try any harder… and like I said, I'm very picky about beds so honestly, I was a bit annoyed at first, however, when I came back later to go to bed you weren't in the middle anymore, so there was enough room for me to still have a chance at getting any sleep in my own bed…."

"I'm… sorry." Emily's eyes glistened with tears, she definitely had no interest in climbing back in bed with Naomi again, the way it appeared to have irritated the blonde so much. "I… didn't mean to…" Emily looked away from the blue eyes that were not expecting Emily to suddenly take offense to her blunt response, especially with the previous 'back and forthing' that had gone on. The smaller girl started to close off again, pulled her knees close to her chest and let a single tear flow down her cheek leaving a visibly darker streak on her jumpsuit when it fell. She was laying sideways on the floor and saw only the carpet until two pale wait feet were near her face.

Emily watched them move about until they were replaced by Naomi's face; the blonde girl was now mirroring Emily's position. "Don't cry. Please… I'm sorry… I was a total bitch and it really wasn't your fault at all." Naomi whispered, holding back the urge to reach forward and wipe away another tear that crept down Emily's cheek, watching as it fell to the floor instead.

"I shouldn't have slept in your bed… I don't belo-" Emily cut herself short, looking away from the blue eyes, scared of what she was about to admit out loud to someone outside of the bubble she had been living in for so long, someone who just wouldn't understand what was going through her mind.

"Emily… what were you about to say?" Naomi said softly, almost equally scared by not being able to push away her desire to ask.

"I… I don't belong on your bed, it was wrong of me." Emily says so monotone, her expression blank, the way it always had been when she said the majority of those words routinely.

"Don't do that…" Naomi felt a small tear push it's way down her own cheek, she couldn't believe what Emily just said, how raw and twisted it was… It was coming from a very dark place that she couldn't even begin to understand. Something in that moment grew in Naomi; the urge to make this all go away, to protect and fix anything that had gone wrong to this small girl. "Don't ever say that again, not to me, not to anyone."

"I'm sorry." Emily whispered back, confused by what Naomi has just said. Nobody had ever responded like that when she said she didn't deserve something. (Not that she had really ever said it out loud to anyone other than one certain person.)

Naomi had no idea what to say to Emily, she wanted to tell her not to apologize, but she didn't want to tell Emily to do anything. There was something about the situation that she felt if she told Emily to do anything it would only increase the weird behavior Emily was suddenly emitting. Despite the giant wave of fear and the possibility of the repercussions, Naomi scooted closer to Emily and put her arm around Emily's back, gently rubbing her hand in circles in attempt to slow Emily's crying and soothe away the fear she saw in those brown eyes. She didn't realize but the closeness was having an equally comforting effect on herself.

"I'm sorry too." Naomi whispered after a long silence, finally settling on those three words. Emily seemed to accept them with a weak smile before slowly closing her eyes and trying to ease her tenseness. However, when she closed her eyes she couldn't help but imagine what usually happened when she did something she was told she didn't deserve, when she did something 'wrong.' Her eyes shot open as if it would make the memories go away, but it didn't work. She screamed as she felt a pain shoot across her stomach then a slam into her arm. She could feel the memories physically and was in absolute fright, starting to scream and claw at the floor.

Naomi panicked and had no idea what was going on. The small girl who had just been curled up and silently crying was now moving around the floor and screaming as if something was attacking her even though Naomi wasn't even touching her anymore. In fact, Naomi had back away a fair distance, afraid that she might get hit in the rapid and convulsive movements Emily was making.

The blonde nearly went into overload and collapsed, clutching her heart from the fright when her door was shot open. She instantly felt a little bit more relaxed when she realized it was Gina coming in, aware of what was going on. She silently prayed to all the gods other people believed in, none she favored herself, hoping that Gina had a greater understanding of how to help Emily. She watched as Gina grabbed Emily and pulled the girl tight into her arms, restricting Emily from moving much, whispering words she couldn't make out to the smaller girl.

Naomi doesn't know what overcame her, maybe it was the look of pain she saw on Emily's face, but she shot forward into her mother's view. "MUM! LET GO OF HER! YOU'RE CRUSHING HER BROKEN ARM!"

Despite the frantic girl in standing in front of her, and the shaking girl in her arms that was taking violent breathes in and out (better than not at all), Gina stopped whispering to Emily and looked at Naomi calmly, "Naomi, I love you, but I need you to leave if you can't calm down. I know what Emily needs right now, and I know what you need right now. Go downstairs and have a glass of water, then I'd very much like it if you'd leave the house for a little bit and see one of your friends, okay?"

Naomi nodded slowly and her gaze dropping from Gina's face to Emily who was still breathing hard but not fighting the holding anymore. She appeared to be more relaxed, hoped that Gina was right instead of herself for a change. The younger blonde brushed away her tears with the palm of her hand and walked past her mother. She was brought to a quick halt by her mother's hand that had grabbed her wrist. She turned to see why she was stopped and watched as her mother slowly lowered her grip from her wrist to her hand and pulled it to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss before looking into Naomi's blue eyes. "She's going to be okay, Naomi."

Naomi didn't want to cry in front of Gina, and her mother knew her well enough to let Naomi run. She let go of her daughter's hand and returned her arm around Emily and watched Naomi shut the door gently behind herself.

She skipped the glass of water and went straight outside and climbed onto her bike. She was pedaling fast and hard until she was out of breathe and stopped in front of a house she didn't even realize she had intended to go to. She got off the seat and leaned her bike against the short brick wall that surrounded the property before walking up to the door and knocking.

She waited a moment and still there was no answer, she was embarrassed by the way she knocked a second time, harder and more desperately. Naomi sniffed to hold off the tears that were about to come and smelled the very familiar scent of smoke from above. She looked up for it's source and saw exactly who she was looking for, leaning out of the second story window smoking a fag while looking down at her.

"Door's unlocked." The girl said, loud enough for Naomi to hear. Smirking because she knew Naomi suddenly felt more stupid than anything for knocking and not even trying the handle to see if it was open. Naomi took a deep breath before pushing the door open and going up the steps in the direction of the room where the other girl would be. She didn't knock on the second closed door, just pushed it open and stood in the doorway looking at the girl who was now sitting on the bed with her long legs crossed.

"Going to come in? I assume there's a reason you are here in your pajamas…I'm pretty sure it's too early for a sleepover…"

Naomi looked down and realized she was still wearing the t-shirt and fleece pajama pants she had decided to wear when she went to bed last night, not able to sleep naked because of a certain someone occupying her bed… The blonde nodded and sat down next to the brunette, both sat in silence until the brunette reached onto the bedside table and grabbed a pack of smokes. She pulled two out, handing the second one to Naomi before putting the pack back down and taking the lighter, igniting both their fags before setting the lighter down and taking a long drag.

"She's older than I thought she'd be…" Naomi said after filling her lungs with smoke and slowly exhaling. She stared at the fag in between her fingers, not wanting to look at her friend, knowing there would be a knowing look spread across it, one she couldn't relate to this time.

Neither needed to clarify who she was talking about. The other girl was highly aware that the Campbell's had frequently housed foster children and that it had been a long time since one stayed with them… that Naomi hadn't even expected Gina to do it again… thought they were a 'retired' foster home.

"Does it matter?" The brunette asked, not really needing to know the answer, rather, knowing her friend needed to be asked so she could think it over properly.

"Of course it does, Effy…" Naomi looked at Effy seriously and sadly, "I mean it's not like she can have a better childhood… not like the others… she'd seventeen, already the person she's going to be… she doesn't get a second chance…"

"Are you saying you don't think she can't get better?" Effy said nonchalantly, she knows her friend would be overwhelmed if she actually acted like she was concerned, Naomi had enough trouble dealing with her own emotions, another person's just complicates things for the blonde.

"NO. Yes… maybe? I don't know." Naomi sounded less and less confident each time she changed her answer. "You should've seen her Eff, she just looked so hurt…" They both know that Naomi doesn't mean Effy should've physically seen Emily… that she's just trying to describe the strength of what she's feeling, and her desire to tell it to someone who is a lot better at explaining things in simple and understandable terms, someone like Effy, to someone who over complicates things, someone like herself.

"Naomi, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I sense you didn't come here because you were worried about _Emily…"_

They both shared a look, shared many times before. Effy and Gina were the only people who were able to get into her head so easily to know that she was avoiding the real problem with everything Naomi had said since she arrived. "Out with it…" Effy gave her a stern look; one that was secretly laced with care for her friend.

"I wasn't able to help her."

"And?"

"That scared the shit out of me… she was in so much pain and I just fucking stood there like an idiot… didn't even call for help… I didn't. Do. A. Fucking. Thing… I'm a horrible person, Eff."

"Bullshit."

"What the fuck do you mean, bullshit? You didn't see me? She was fucking screaming out and shaking like she was being beat up and I fucking stood there! What the fuck could possibly redeem me?"

"The fact that you care more than the person who she was probably thinking of. Doing nothing will always be better to that girl, than beating her up like whoever she was thinking of."

"Why don't I feel that way…?" Naomi sighed sadly, holding her head in her hands, careful not to ignite her hair with the hot end of the cigarette in her fingers. "I mean, standing by and watching someone get beat up is just as bad as beating them up. I don't see how it can be any different with… her?"

"Naomi, stop thinking for one minute and actually listen to me." Effy waits for Naomi to sit up and look into her eyes. The blonde knows Effy is being serious. "For one thing, there wasn't someone else physically in your room, actively beating her up. It was in her head, and obviously, you aren't capable of getting into her head. There wasn't really an easy solution which is why you stood there and waited for something to happen. Whether you'd like to admit it or not, we both know that you are not cutting yourself enough slack because as you mentioned the girl was screaming, so you must've known Gina would rush upstairs and take care of things. And despite your tendency to ignore Gina, you listened to her when she told you to leave so you'd be out of the way. Face it; you're not a horrible person."

Naomi stared at Effy with her mouth hanging open; it was very unlike Effy to say so much.

"It's more like me to call out your bullshit than to not talk, so shut your mouth, you twat." Effy smirked before taking another drag and getting up to stand by the window sill and lean against the wall.

The blonde isn't one to apologize unless it's over something that really matters, so she doesn't say sorry for acting so shocked by Effy, and instead asked something else that caught her attention. "Eff, how did you know Gina told me to leave…?" Perhaps Effy's answer would bring her one step closer to solving the enigma that is her wise yet mysterious friend.

"She called to make sure I was in, told me you were on your way. She knows you just as well as I do, Naomi… She was worried if I wasn't here you'd panic… probably would've." Effy mumbled the last part to herself, amused, but she knows Naomi heard her say it.

"Fuck off," Naomi scoffed playfully.

"She also said when I had you sorted out, that you could return and Emily was feeling much better."

"Jesus, it's like you're fucking married to the woman the way you both talk about me without my knowing, so often. Shit, that's a disturbing thought… I take that back."

Effy doesn't say anything, just smiles that Naomi seems back to her normal self.

The blonde flicked the remains of her fag out the window and nods goodbye to Effy and starts to leave. As Effy expected, Naomi stops in the doorway and faces her again, looking less sure of herself than she did a minute ago, "Eff… something changed… I felt different after she broke down and I have no fucking idea what it is…"

"Sympathy? A little guilt? Maybe a tinge of warmth and care in that cold heart of yours?" Effy suggests shrugging her shoulders.

"God, you're so…" Naomi was about to come up with something snarky but changes her mind, "Thanks Eff… See you around." The blonde leaves Effy, knowing her friend could probably use a nice nap anyway considering it was still fairly early in the morning for both of them… she could use a nap too… Just as she shut the front door behind her a thought entered her mind, _'a tinge of warmth? The fuck is that supposed to mean…'_

**A/N: the whole thing about Naomi knowing she talks bullshit sometimes and won't admit it just for the sake of being right, actually made myself laugh out loud. I don't know about you, but I think that is something that really defines Naomi… (also the whole passion and pride bit…) (This is until she comes to learn that there is one person who she would ALWAYS give in to, after bit of a loving push of course, Naomi ain't an easy one to tame...)**

**Hope you liked the friendship between Effy and Naomi. **

**I dunno, I was fairly happy with how in character this turned out to be… (hope you agree)**

**(the last line also happened to make me laugh…)**

**Anyhow, thank everyone who is reading, and everyone who reviews as well. I most 'indeediliy' love everything you have to say, as much as we all love Naomily. **

**AND guess what. I have a nice twist in plot coming up… hehe. (It has been hinted too within the first and second chapters… involving a certain character… might you guess whom that person is?) LOL. I think you'll laugh a bit… (-sorry, I'm a bit of a tease, LOL)**

**THANK AGAIN! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Now that there is someone I actually know in person, the motivation perhaps will be stronger to write more frequently (like I used to…) Anyhow… So this chapter goes out to Lotan who's been begging me, in my own words to, "DO ET" already.**

**PS this chapter turned out way differently than I thought it would… sigh. More drama… it may shatter your heart but I promise to pick up the pieces at some point…. D:**

**BangBangTheory reference in this one. **

Chapter 6

Biking home proved rather uncomfortable for Naomi, considering it was rush hour in Bristol, and she was outside, in public, wearing her pajamas… She didn't understand the people who went to grocery stores in pajama pants and she probably never would. She didn't even realize that she was biking faster than she would regularly, however, Gina did, hence the surprised look on her mother's face when she got home.

"Well, that was quick…" Gina threw a knowing smile in the direction of her daughter who was stood in the doorway, debating what to do next.

"What?" Naomi was too lost in her own thoughts to even hear her Mum. She saw her mother shake her head amused and point upstairs. She took the hint and tried to ignore the motherly judging that was going on, even if Gina wasn't saying anything out loud. She kept her steps on the staircase quiet, remembering that Emily scares easily, and knocked on her closed bedroom door. She smiled to herself realizing she shouldn't have to knock on her own door, but just stood there waiting for some kind of response that she could enter.

"Come in." Emily's muffled voice sounded distant, behind the door.

For a moment Naomi hesitated, unsure exactly what she was proposing to do once she saw Emily… She hadn't planned anything out, and was becoming increasingly nervous and frustrated with herself for not being able to know what she wanted like she usually did. Right now, she assumed she just wanted to restore things to normality after a crazy morning, so she went into her room with a confidence she convinced herself was real, thinking maybe a pat on the back and a few words along the lines of 'there, there' would do the trick.

The confidence was swept away when she saw Emily's back poking out from the covers of her bed. Emily turned around to face her, her brown eyes looking at Naomi as equally unsure of what to say. The only thing Naomi knew was that her heart was doing something she could only assume was along the lines of 'swooning', a feeling completely unfamiliar to her. She brushed the thought aside and stepped forward as if she were in a trance. Her mind was completely captured by the cute little button nose and brown eyes in front of her. She looked lower and saw that there was a frown on the girl's face, and something inside of her shrunk.

"Emily…" She said the only word that was on her mind, giant font, bold text and all…

"I thought you were Gina…" Emily whispered.

Shrunk, shriveled and died was that new feeling. Naomi felt hurt, like a harsh blow to the gut only this was far worse than any physical pain. A reminder once again, that she may not be able to help Emily as much as her mother could. She would just be another meaningless object in this girl's life, despite the fact that for once, she may feel differently about the whole situation. The feeling needed to leave, and it needed to leave _now. _It was as if an entirely different person took over the blonde girl's soul and removed any of the painful insecurities and replaced them with standoffish rude behavior.

"Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint…" Naomi scoffed, subconsciously folding her arms defensively in front of her. Her new self wavered for a moment when she saw Emily's lip quiver before turning into an angry grimace.

"Can we just pretend what happened before, well, didn't?" Emily pulled the covers up a little closer to her face, her voice was shaky.

"It happened, Emily. It's fucking reality, not everyone is perfect, get used to it." Naomi looked away from the shocked brown eyes that went from soft to hard the second she finished her statement. She knew it was a low blow, but her statement held more truth than she could imagine. What she didn't know was that she was talking more about herself, than whoever she thought caused Emily such pain.

"Right. Fine then… this is me realistically asking you to leave me alone, kay?" That time Naomi couldn't look away from the harsh venom beneath Emily's words.

"You're in my fucking bedroom, you can't make me leave." Naomi was pissed, even though she knew it wasn't justified. She wasn't allowed to get mad at this girl for not accepting her anger and being the sad and quiet girl she expected. Still, she showed no signs of giving in to the girl lying in her bed.

"Fine, stay I don't give a fuck." Emily turned around, away from Naomi as if to put more distance between them without actually moving any further.

"Fuck it, stay in my bed, we don't need your wallowing, psychotic, ass at the table. I'll be down eating breakfast." Naomi was at a loss for words and that was the best she could come up with. She didn't even bother to shut the door behind her, just set her jaw while sighing, and left the room.

She came downstairs fuming with anger, somewhat annoyed that she couldn't control it. It wasn't an anger that she could just lock away in a draw and move past, it was an anger that was nagging her, telling her she should be mad at herself not Emily. Frustrated by trying to do the right thing and having it turn out so wrong she ends up kicking a small table near the entryway. "FUCKING-SHITTING-HELL-CUNTING-BASTARD!"

Naomi clutched her throbbing toes, a lot more pissed off at herself for being so stupid… as if kicking a table would fix anything… Gina's head poked out of the kitchen to see what the ruckus was, "Jesus Naomi, I thought you fell down the steps."

"I wish I did…" Naomi mumbled.

"Come have some breakfast, love." Gina didn't hear what Naomi mumbled, but she knew something was off. Naomi wasn't one to take out emotion on inanimate objects so something clearly was bothering the girl.

With a slight limp, Naomi managed to get herself into the kitchen and sit properly at the table. She saw the familiar sight of newspaper being held up at one end of the table. The familiar grumbles of an Irish accent that she heard so frequently now. Gina placed down a plate of eggs and toast in the center of the table, and then a large bowl of hash browns by the man with the newspaper help up to his face.

"Kieran, food's ready. Help yourself." Gina said, before taking a seat next to him and helping herself to some of the eggs.

Naomi watched as the newspaper was folded up, and behind it appeared the bearded bastard who had become her mother's boyfriend over the past few months. He wasn't all that bad, Naomi appreciated his morbid feeling for everything in life. It was odd to Naomi though, because her mother was probably very far from that sort of way of thinking.

The younger blonde dropped her fork and nearly gasped, "What the fuck happened to your face?" Kieran's face was covered in bruises and there were wads of cotton sticking out of his nose.

"A little fucker decided to take a piss on me… and I took it…"

"I'm glad you didn't fight back, love." Gina smiled at her boyfriend.

"What the fuck? You just let yourself get beat up?" Naomi was outraged by the stupidity. She couldn't imagine that he let himself get beat up…. Nobody should let that happen to themselves…

"It was a fucking girl, Naomi. A teenage girl, don't think I'd be here for breakfast if I took a swing…" He mumbled as he scooped a nice pile of the greasy potatoes onto his plate.

Everyone went silent the moment they heard a gasp come from the doorway. Emily was standing there with a look of horror, just staring at Kieran, her eyes reddened from crying. It took Naomi about five seconds to figure out what was going on, not to mention Emily shouting, "What the FUCK are you doing here?" and disappearing out of the room, was a good enough hint.

Naomi turned to Kieran for some sort of explanation even though she had a crystal clear idea of exactly who did this to him now. He just sighed and shrugged before taking another bite of his potatoes. When he saw Gina and Naomi still looking at him expectantly he chuckled and said, "What were the odds of that, eh?"

Gina shook her head and turned her attention to Naomi, "Why don't you go see if Emily's alright…?"

"Sure, because I have to fix all the bullshit in this fucking house…" Naomi complied to her Mum's wish despite the retort she made on her way out. Gina knew better than to take it to heart, and she already knew Naomi probably wanted to check on Emily, just needed a bit of a push.

Stood by the door, Naomi took a deep breath and opened the door, not bothering to knock this time. She saw Emily sobbing hard and having difficulty taking in breaths of air, on the edge of her bed, facing away from her. Despite her pride she made the next few steps forward until she was sitting next to Emily who didn't seem to care she was there.

"I didn't want to… do it. I couldn't control it, it was like I wanted to hurt him for everything that's happened to me? I shouldn't have done it… I just… I was…" Emily looked up into Naomi's eyes pleading for words to come to her and help her explain. The blonde bites her lip holding herself back from crying while her own eyes look over the wet and swollenness of the girl's face, tears streaming down onto the girl's lap. "I'm so sorry… I just… can you understand?" Emily asked.

"I can try to." Naomi whispered while pulling Emily close into a hug. Like her mother, she held tight to Emily, knowing that the damage already done was worse than the pain Emily was getting from her arm. "I'm sorry about before Emily… I just…"

"It's okay, I'll try to understand."

Naomi pulled away and wiped a tear that was on the edge of Emily's face. "Emily, why… Kieran?"

"I knew him before… he came to my house one time… and I thought… never mind, it's stupid."

"Emily, stop that. This isn't stupid…"

Emily looked down ashamed, "I thought he was going to take me away from them… for years I imagined what it would be like to do magic shows with him. I would go to other parties that he did and make friends and he would make small talk with the other parents about how proud he was of me. I thought he would rescue me, be my new family… I thought he knew how bad it was… and I hated him for that. And when she you know… hit me, I though it was because of him. Maybe she thought he would take me from her, and she wanted to show me I was wrong… so wrong."

"I'll be right back, okay Emily?" Naomi waited for Emily to nod, wiping away one more tear before disappearing out the door. She returned a minute later a little out of breath with a large plate of food and two glasses of orange juice. "Food for the soul."

She could've sworn she saw a small smile for a second on Emily's face. She set the food down on her bed and took out two forks she had stowed in her pocket. Giving one to Emily, she took a bite of the eggs. Emily stared at Naomi and the food silently. "Well come on, have a bite." Naomi said, sliding some of the food towards Emily.

"But you… only have one plate."

"What's mine is yours. This is me showing you I can share. I can share my bed, my room, my clothes, my food, and my family. Unless you want your own that is…"

Emily's face lit up. Sharing was a foreign concept to her, no matter what was being shared. The blame was always one hundred percent hers, and the things she wanted were always, only everyone else's. It took a nod of encouragement before she grabbed a bite of the hash browns, (Naomi had to use Gina's look of 'do the right thing' on Kieran to get some…).

The look of heaven on the smaller girl's face was enough to make Naomi smile. Clearly Emily hadn't been properly introduced to the possibilities of what good food could taste like. She was sure to leave most of the food for the smaller girl, but still took a bite every now and then so as not to make Emily feel uncomfortable about eating.

"Fuck, that was good." Emily mumbled staring down at the empty plate, while rubbing her stomach.

"If you think that was good, just wait until I take you to one of the fancy dine ins in the city." Naomi blushed, immediately regretting the way that sounded more like she was asking Emily out on a date than comparing the quality of home-cooking to a restaurant.

"You don't have to… do that." Emily looked down, back to her shy self.

"I want to." Naomi sat up straighter, back to her confident self. "Sometime soon, for that matter… if you aren't busy, that is…? However first, I'd like you to meet my friends… There happens to be a party I was going to ditch on tomorrow that I could take you to… I already have been hearing how they were all planning on going. It's the perfect place."

"Wouldn't that bother you?"

"Why would it bother me?"

"I'd be in the way…"

"No, Emily, I want you to come, if _you _want to come. You can't be in the way unless I didn't want you there. So stop making excuses and tell me you'll come." Naomi genuinely smiled.

Emily's face lit up, it didn't bother her that Naomi was being bossy, because this was all with good intentions. Better than good intentions, kind, caring, and friendly intentions… nobody had done that for her, and like Mrs. Sheffer said, denying herself good opportunities was a horrible thing, so she did the only thing she could do; smile and nod like a loon.

"Great, now that that's sorted allow me to introduce you the shower…" Naomi smirked.

"Fuck off, I've showered before." Emily scowled.

"Ah yes, but none are like the great shower of Nindahi…"

"Who the hell is Nindahi? Some sort of fucking myth-legend type person you're mocking?"

"No, Nindahi was the Mexican bloke who installed it…" Naomi winked triumphantly coaxing Emily out of the room.

"You're so full of bullshit sometimes."

"Yeah, well…" Naomi looked at Emily while she pulled out a few towels from a closet, "yeah. Guess so." Both fell into a fit of laughter at Naomi's profound response…

**There, I know it's a bit short… yeah it has a range of all the emotions. But I kinda liked it. Naomi would be quick to push away the drama and find distractions. Distractions, distractions, distractions are what she's best at… we'll just have to see how Emily cope's with Naomi's way of dealing with things. **

**TOOTLES. See you next time.**

**Apologies again for taking so effin long.**


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